Marijuana during pregnancy

Melanie Dreher, who is the dean of nursing at Rush Medical Center in Chicago, did a study in Jamaica. It was actually published in the American Journal of Pediatricsin 1994, but now it’s re-circulating because of all the interest in the neuroprotective properties.

Basically, she studied women during their entire pregnancy, and then studied the babies about a year after birth. And what she studied was a group of women who did smoke cannabis during pregnancy and those who didn’t. She expected to see a difference in the babies as far as birth weight and neuro tests, but there was no difference whatsoever. The differences that the researchers did notice, that are unexplained and kind of curious are that the babies of the women who had smoked cannabis — and we’re talking about daily use during their pregnancy — socialized more quickly, made eye contact more quickly and were easier to engage.

We don’t know why this is so, but all the old saws of smoking during pregnancy will result in low birth weight did not show up — at least in the Jamaican study. In U.S. studies where we’ve seen a similar investigation, women have concurrently been abusing alcohol and other drugs as well.

The 30-day test showed that children of ganja-using mothers were superior to children of non-ganja mothers in two ways: the children had better organization and modulation of sleeping and waking, and they were less prone to stress-related anxiety.

The editors of Patients for Medical Cannabis were in attendance at the final hearing of the Iowa Pharmacy Board’s review of medical marijuana, where Dr. Melanie Dreher presented the results of her studies with “ganja babies” over the phone. (You can read her testimony on the second page here.) She has been studying the medical uses of ganja, as it’s called in Jamaica, for 30 years.

A quotation from Dreher’s testimony – “You know, people ask me all the time whether I think marijuana should be legalized, and I have been of the opinion for a long time that this is much ado about nothing. It is, compared to tobacco and alcohol, this is such a benign substance.

“It does not seem to make a difference in either the productivity of the people in Jamaica… it seems to make no difference in terms of exposure during pregnancy …We looked at these children again at age five, both groups of children, and could find absolutely nothing that linked their development with their exposure during pregnancy.

“I …would strongly support the decriminalization of cannabis, and now that we understand about the endocannabinoid system that this is documented, it’s researched… now that we have knowledge of why cannabis is good medicine, something that Jamaicans have known for years, I think it’s time to seriously revisit this product, to understand and be able to dispense it as medicine legally and to decriminalize the other uses of marijuana.”

No signs of birth defects

A landmark study conducted in the 1990s by medical anthropologist Dr. Dreher, (co-author of the book Women and Cannabis: Medicine, Science, and Sociology), gave the medical world a different insight into the use of marijuana by pregnant women in Jamaica. Dreher found that marijuana was being used in a cultural and medical context, as a way to relieve morning sickness or nausea, prevent depression and fatigue, and improve appetites. Her team observed both the mothers who used marijuana and their infants; they reported that there were no signs of birth defects or of behavioral problems in the marijuana-exposed children either during the month after birth or even several years after.

This is not to say that women should have no compunctions about using marijuana regularly and in large amounts during pregnancy. Rather, as scientists like Dreher argue, the medical community should improve its research methodologies, be more thorough, conduct more cross-cultural studies, and refrain from being so quick to conclude without solid evidence that any amount of marijuana use–no matter how slight–during pregnancy will do lasting harm to both mother and child. – Source

Melanie Dreher, RN, PhD, FAAN explains her cannabis and pregnancy research study in Jamaica. Pregnant women and their children were studied for over ten plus years, both marijuana smokers and non-smokers were included in the study – one of the first scientific studies of the effects that cannabis may have on pregnancy and the child’s development thereafter.

“Although no positive or negative neurobehavioral effects of prenatal exposure were found at 3 days of life using the Brazelton examination,there were significant differences between the exposed and non-exposed neonates at the end of the first month.

Comparing the two groups, the neonates of mothers who used marijuana showed better physiological stability at 1 month and required less examiner facilitation to reach an organized state and become available for social stimulation.

The results of the comparison of neonates of the heavy-marijuana-using mothers and those of the non-using mothers were even more striking…

The heavily exposed neonates were more socially responsive and were more autonomically stable at 30 days than their matched counterparts.

quality of their alertness was higher;

their motor and autonomic systems were more robust;

they were less irritable;

they were less likely to demonstrate any imbalance of tone;

they needed less examiner facilitation to become organized;

they had better self-regulation;

judged to be more rewarding for caregivers than the neonates of non-using mothers at 1 month of age

When Dreher released solidly researched reports showing that children of ganja-using mothers were better adjusted than children born to non-using mothers, she encountered political and professional turbulence.

Dr. Melanie Dreher is one of a handful of scientists who have researched marijuana objectively and intelligently in the last three decades.

Dr Dreher is Dean of the University of Iowa’s College of Nursing, and also holds the post of Associate Director for the University’s Department of Nursing and Patient Services. She’s a perpetual overachiever who earned honors degrees in nursing, anthropology and philosophy before being awarded a PhD in anthropology from prestigious Columbia University in 1977.

Although Dreher is a multi-faceted researcher and teacher whose expertise ranges from culture to child development to public health, she began early on to specialize in medical anthropology. After distinguishing herself as a field researcher in graduate school, Dreher was hand-picked by her professors to conduct a major study of marijuana use in Jamaica. Her doctoral dissertation was published as a book titled “Working Men and Ganja,” which stands as one of the premier cross-cultural studies of chronic marijuana use.

Along with being a widely-published researcher, writer, and college administrator, Dreher is a professor or lecturer at several institutions, including the University of the West Indies. She recently served as president of the 120,000 member Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honour Society, has been an expert witness in a religious freedom case involving ganja use by the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church, and is one of the most well-respected academicians in the world.

Dreher decried “the politics of trying to get published.” She now sees it as “a miracle” that Pediatrics published her work on neonatal outcomes, however belatedly, in 1994. (Her paper on five-year outcomes came out in the West Indian Medical Journal before Pediatrics ran the neonatal outcomes.) She suspects that a review of “all the fugitive literature that’s out there that didn’t get published” would convey “a very different picture of prenatal cannabis exposure.”

Honest research is also impeded, Dreher said, by “the politics of building a research career. Most research is done by academics and academia is a very conservative environment where tenure often is more important than truth.” (Dreher is now Dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Iowa.)

The end result of biased science, Dreher observed, is a misinformed public. Recently, she “googled to see what was out there for the general public regarding pregnancy and marijuana.” Typical of the disinformation was an article entitled “Exposure to marijuana in womb may harm brain’ that began “Over the past decade several studies have linked behavior problems and lower IQ scores in children to prenatal use of marijuana…” A reference to Dreher said she had “written extensively on the benefits of smoking marijuana while smoking pregnant!”

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213 thoughts on “Marijuana during pregnancy”

Thanks so much for all this info. I have been very afraid of smoking and harming my child however having such a reliable source telling me this (which I have always believe since I had ADHD which I keep under control with weed) has been great.Thank you for being one of the few academics to touch this subject unbiased by myth and religion.

We were so lucky to hear about Dr. Dreher, and so riveted by her research, this post was really a delight. You are very welcome.

If you ever feel like sharing more about how it helps ADHD, what form of medicine works best for you, etc., we would love to hear. ADHD isn’t something we are familiar with so it would be interesting, we could even do a post about it. Just leave a comment anywhere, we will get it.

I smoke every day to keep my ADHD under control. My thoughts race around constantly, confused about which one to focus on. My head is always overloaded, which makes me overwhelmed. When I smoke weed, it slows down my thought process and allows each train of thought to flow smoothly and orderly, instead of bouncing off one another. It’s nearly impossible for me to do one thing at a time and finish it. I’m always going back and forth with thoughts and tasks. I walk around my house all day like a chicken with my head cut off. But then I smoke weed and i can finally sit down, stop moving, and relax. And enjoy time with my daughter, who couldn’t be more perfect thanks to smoking during pregnancy. She never cried, spit up, always smiles, Incredibly smart, social, artistic, and musically creative. She was so alert and aware from the moment i met her. I see nothing wrong with smoking ganja if it helps make your life easier and happier. :D
I had NO appetite during pregnancy. The thought of food made me nauseus. But weed fixed that! I gained the weight back i lost from my lack of appetite.

I have adhd bipolar angzity asma depression an I have taken thousands of different meds to try an fix how I felt but everyone of them made me feel like a zombie or horrible weed is the only thing that I have found that cures all of them so I can function right helps also cut my migraines down an my body aches

amen sister , iv always ( since i can remember) had horrible anxiety,depression , and up and down mood swings and from what my doctor said ADD “i call bullshit” ….I was on xanax, lexepro , and concerta. i hated all of them, i was more down then ever and my mood swings got way worse. and the xanax got me in a lot of trouble.. Now with that being said , iv smoked weed since about 16. i was 19 almost 20 when i had mt first daughter who is now 2. i smoked with her the whole entire time. i was the most calm in my life. i’m now pregnant (20) weeks with my second baby . i got drug tested and test positive for weed. my doctor told me i just needed one clean test after that one witch i did . and haven’t tested me since! does this mean they will test me when i have my baby? i’m just confused cause they never tested me with my first baby. i would love to see weed become legalized EVERYWHERE, to a good age group of corse. It is kind of dumbfounding knowing that they dont have weed legal , but they will prescribe pain killers and let you take all these pills while pregnant and they look down upon pot ……C’MON sorry for the rant just needed to speak my mind i think its crazy not to have for people that could really use it …. :)

Hi I’m currently 15 weeks pregnant and in my first trimester smoking has helped me out so much I was throwing up constantly but I haven’t had an ob/gyn visit yet so I’m kind of nervous about that especially since I know they’re gonna test me. What has happened with your pregnancy so far as far as them testing you? I live in California and I currently have a recommendation paper from a physician that allows me to smoke marijuana semi-legally. Do you think that helps in any way? Thank you & any feed back would be appreciated.

I grew up on adhd meds my mom I don’t believe was a pot smoker but did other drugs. Honestly the best medicine for it is to give it to them as the doctor suggests BUT lean them off with obedience, disaplen, and skills that they can use to control there adhd, without these skills your child will not be able to ever do anything with out these pills. And I was able to be off them by the age of 13 and I’m 19 now and have not had to take them since that day

I’m very thankful for this wonderful article. I am an MJ+ Momma of one and pregnant with my second. I have decided to continue medicating strictly with MJ because I have Carpal Tunnel, Extensive Nerve Damage – Neuralgia, Type 1 Diabetes and also combined type ADHD. I stopped my ADHD medicine, as soon as I knew I was pregnant, and have continued with the other. It helps with my appetite which remains suppressed, I have a BMI of 18 and it drops when I stop consuming MJ. My cholesterol also rises from 173 to 207 when I stop vaping/consuming. Anytime I stop I get debilitating pain in my hands and wrists. My feet become tingly and I am unable to work.

I was once given a cortisone shot in my hip for bursitis, my blood sugars soared beyond 530, I was exhausted and felt ill. I was since offered cortisone for my wrists and I refused because of the adverse affects I had had previously… so I was given 60 Hydrocodone (excuse the spelling) which made me physically ill. I couldn’t take them and didn’t want to risk physical dependency. I began an antidepressant for nerve pain and it screwed up my liver panel, which was normal after I stopped taking the pill. Marijuana should be used in Neurology as a safe alternative!

BTW my son who was born with 8 times more MJ in his system than the pediatricians had ever seen is a perfectly healthy, thriving young man… age 3. He has astonished doctors with his intelligence! He was born in TN where it is against the law so we had a run in with CPS however they closed my case because there wasn’t any other substances being used, other than caffeine… and there is no evidence that it is harmful. It was an open and shut case. I’m in KY now and concerned I will be faced with the same issue… I hope they are as understanding. I lost both parents to Opiate/ Barbiturate dependencies! I need to know I can have a safe alternative that has more benefits than risks!

Emma, I take it you smoked marijuana during your pregnacy? Did you find any negative affects on your baby? Please tell me a bit more, as I am trying to conceive and very torn between using and not using… I am a frequent user.

I smoke for my pregnancies and my kids are super healthy and smart, my last daughter I took organic marijuana until the day before delivery, she’s perfect, great sleeper, super happy and just a doll face baby. I never quit when ttc I am very fertile and get pregnant first shot. Bottom line it helps my morning/all day sickness and tremendously cures my hormonal changes, I’m never stressed, I’m relaxed and because of the relaxation I think that’s what contributes to awesome mj babies. Stress is very bad for unborn baby, toxic actually. Any questions ask me :)

I’m nervous about CPS.. I am 20 weeks pregnant and smoke weed. This is my first child and I couldn’t be more excited. I don’t have an appetite and have some pretty bad pains. Smoking helps me eat and helps the pain. I don’t want my child to be taken away because I’m smoking :(

I’m 15 years old and 10 weeks pregnant. I use marijuana mainly for nausea but also depression and axiety because I had to go off my pills when I found out i was pregnant. Though if I don’t smoke weed for a day I can’t eat or keep anything down including my prenatal vitamin. I’ve become worried because many people have tried to scare me by saying my baby’s going to come out retarded because of the marijuana I know it’s false but I still can’t help but worry, though I’m more worried about my baby not developing properly because I puke too much and I’m not getting enough vitamins. Anyways I’m really concerned about child protective services, do they drug test every mother who gives birth? I don’t want my precious bundle of joy to be taken! I only smoke alittle bit of pot for the nausea and sometimes for pain & before going to bed :(

I’m in the same boat. Indiana is one of only a few states that requires mandatory drug testing at every prenatal visit. I don’t know what to do because every time I try to stop I get all day sickness and cannot eat. I also suffer from severe antenatal depression which has been disrupting my life and relationship with baby’s dad and my other daughter as sometimes between feeling down and being sick dehydrated and malnourished keeps me in bed 18-20 hours a day. Mj is the only thing that helps but doctors here are not understanding and say to “ride it out” for the health of the baby. I feel like that’s bs because my baby needs food and a stress free momma to thrive. Just don’t know what to do because I wouldn’t be able to live if the baby was taken. I’m seriously considering moving to Colorado because it seems like the only choice for medical freedom.

JI recently dealt with CPS in AZ and I know you have a right to refuse speaking with them. I was so nervous but I decided to be open and honest. I told them I smoked it most my life for my stomache. They said it helps to talk to them to get your side of the story. Sometimes it’s good to exercise your right to be silent but this time I decided maybe the truth would set me free. And so it did. They were trying to force me to stop breastfeeding the baby which is the best thing for them. Due to lack of evidence in the studies that are not solid they had no case against me and it was an closed quickly. Especially after my husband defended my honor saying what a good wife I am cooking etc. …And also mentioned how a judge had just approved for anxiety and PTSD which I suffer from both as well as chronic nausea and lack of appetite.my eight year old I am happy and proud to share is on top of his class and an exceptionally fast learner also well mannered, very creative and athletic. My teo weelold daughter is do healthy when she was born se nearl stood up! And is very alet and healthyvetyawarecreatve

Hi could you tell me what ended up happening after you went into labor? I currently live in CA and have a recommendation paper from a physician but I’m still worried they will tell me something. I’m 15 weeks pregnant and wondering if I should stop not because it harms the baby but because of the law I don’t want any problems. Any feedback is appreciated thanks.

Hey I was curious how to deal with this I suffer from morning sickness in general w.o being preg i also have issues with my mood im a happy person and I can relax but the mj just helps all of that my husb n I are trying to conceive and both use mj. What are the legal probs I could run into. I’m scared BC mj is the only thing that has helped !

I am currently 9 weeks preg, I was a regular user , everyday, I am a bit stressed out, my emotions were off the wall. I had no way of keeping calm. That was me,when I stopped smoking for 2 weeks.. Everythng just seemed to fall apart. I was told that m… Was adictive and if I smoke throughout my preg when baby is born he will go through widrawel symptons and possibly become colic as his little body would be then dependant but no longer able to take in the substance once out the womb…

During my first pregnancy with my now 5 year old boy, I was I’ll. 24 hrs a day. 3 days after the first vomiting incident ( which continued all 3 days) I did not use cannibus. Then I started a new chapter in my psychology class: the chapter on development starting from conception. As usual, the professor had us scan through the chapter. Immediately my textbook flipped open to “teratogens” which are substances that can cause birth defects in eutero. At the bottom of the list was marijuana and next to it, the only potential birth defect was “irritability.”

My son is Amazing! Using words cognitively by 4 mos. “yes please” and “no thank you” by 6mos. Forming full sentences by 1, making puns by 2 (put the duck on his train and yelled ” conDUCKtor”). I would say the information listed above in the article from this study is extremely accurate. I would even go as far as to say I was in the “heavy user” category, which again, according to the article is possibly why my son is so incredible. At a party when he was 4 he was on the moon bounce, he yelled “mom, look, I can do a somersault in the air”. I turned around and he jumped, did a flip and landed on his feet. No gymnastics class, he didn’t even know it was called a flip. I freaked, it was awesome! Pretty much every day he amazes me that much. I look at other babies and I have verbally expressed to my husband that they look like they have “zombie eyes” but I think it’s just because my son was so alert at such an incredibly young age.

Dont believe the negative propaganda. I’m in my second pregnancy now, which I didn’t realize until I ran out of cannibus and became violently ill, couldn’t eat anything and even if I did, I couldn’t keep anything down. One puff and back to feeling great! Probably would end up in the ER dehydrated otherwise…

I Saw a recent study that showed rates of infant mortality. Babies of non marijuana users have a 15.something in 1000 chance of infant mortality. Children born to mothers who used mj during pregnancy have an 8.something in 1000 chance of infant mortality.

What is the name of the psychology book? I would like to check it out. My daughter is pregnant and is an occasional marijuana user. When I found out that she was smoking, I was worried and said so to her. She replied that a friend of hers smoked while pregnant and her baby was born with out any problems. This friend had a conversation with her doctor. I am going to recommend to my daughter that she do the same.

You would be surprised at how fuctional some people who smoke pot on a regurlar basis can be and you would never even guess they were high. I’m not recommending taking care of a baby while under the influence of weed but it does depend on the person and they usually know their limits. If you want to be a responsible parent you will be and you can honeslty still be a very responsible parent while high on pot believe it or not, it really just depends on the person and their habits. I am talking about people who have years of experience smoking marijuana not someone who has never done it before because that would be a different story. Also most habitual pot smokers never get high out their minds, unlike someone who has smoked for the first time and does not know their limit. Especially knowing they still need to take care of the children. You can still use good judgement and smoke pot and raise your child, it depends on your mentality to begin with. If i think it is dangerous for my child to play outside by himself just because a parent is high does not mean that all of sudden they think their child would be safe outside alone. You don’t loose sight of what’s safe and what’s dangerous all of sudden. It is a personal choice but that being said not everyone parent who smoke pots is going to use good judgement because they might not have good judgement from the get go. There are many parents who don’t smoke pot and that doesn’t make all of them great parents. Smoking pot does not alone make someone a bad parent.

You are right my friend. I have gotten plenty good compliments on my parenting abilities and I smoke as needed and care for them like it’s my calling to do so. It’s mother instinct too I’d say. I’d also say there’s plenty parents who don’t smoke that go off the rocker more than I have ever due to their stress and such.

This is by far the most intelligent reply to this type of question I have ever read. Thank you so much for this. I have severe depression, anxiety, & an autoimmune disorder called Sjogrens. When I haven’t smoked, I’m worried about everything, depressed, & in pain. I don’t feel “normal”. However, after smoking, my pain goes away & I feel happy, calm, & collected. I feel more competent as a person. Now, I’m pregnant with my first child and have been worried about discontinuing use. I stopped smoking for 3 days. My nausea came back instantly, I was throwing up twice sometimes three times a day, & I couldn’t even look at food. That’s when it clicked for me that I was doing more harm to my child by not eating or getting nutrition than I was smoking Marijuana. I’m in no way worried about what kind of mother I’ll be “high”.

a doctor who finally makes sense!
i’m only 6 weeks pregnant and ive been struggling with the decision on whether tp stop smoking or continue. smoking pot not only helps me eat and controls morning sickness but it also is a huge mood stablizer! i get so irritable sometimes especaily towards my baby daddy but smoking weed really helps that out. it calms me down and just makes me a much more pleasant person to be aroun. thank you for helping me make up my mind

Dr. Dreher’s study, is something that should be more widely recognized by the medical community and the American Public. I am so sick of the demonizing of marijuana, when way more harmul drugs are legal – ie alcohol and cigarettes, not to mention the enormous amonutns of TOXIC drugs perscribed legally, I mean Adderal, Ritalin – legalized methamphetamine, and they give it to CHILDREN! They allow pregnant women to continue to take antidepressants such as zoloft, and other various drugs for various conditions..

As far as my pregnancy, I am in my second trimester and smoking ganja moderately 2-4 hits/day has helped with both nausea and indigestion. Not to mention the way it has helped with my anxieties.

We need a balanced look at this beautiful, nurturing and therapeutic herb! Stop the sensationalisim.

i really believe that cannabis use during pregnancy is good for you, because iv been smoking my whole pregnancy. im almost eight months, and my husband just got incarcerated almost three weeks ago. cannabis smoking has helped me deal with my husband being incarcerated, my pregnant emotions, and my best friends death.I really think cannabis smoking is better then taking prescription medication.

I have 3 beautiful, healthy, happy children. Each I smoked marijuana with. They are all intelligent beyond their years. My daughters standardized test scores are always above average (high 95% percentile and above). My daughter is a member of the National Society for Gifted and Talented. She was ellected Ambassador of her school this year. My son’s are not old enough yet, but are clearly above their peers. Teachers notice it right off the bat. They are natural leaders with excellent communication skills.

I agree with the post above as well that it will help you deal with the death of a loved one. IT IS WAY BETTER THAN RX MEDICATION FOR YOUR BODY, MIND, SPIRIT and CHILDREN.

I am almost 6 months pregnant and this was all very informative for me. It was very nice to see that someone actually conducted a study and recorded the effects. I have very many friends who either smoked while pregnant, or their mothers smoked while pregnant with them, and the only thing that seems to be common among those people is more intelligent offspring. I have been using marijuana throughout pregnancy to stave off severe nausea as well as anxiety, which was severe before I became pregnant. I knew it was not healthy for a fetus to be living in a stressed out mommy until birth and it seemed this was the most healthy way to relieve anxiety. I felt bad using marijuana during my pregnancy just because the only information thats easy to get a hold of only has negative connotations. This has been calming for me knowing the studies that have been done are showing the effects mentioned. It’s time for this country to embrace marijuana, a healthy natural plant that doesn’t hold the negative effects that alcohol and cigarettes do. I hope we can see a day that this country legalizes marijuana completely, not just in a medical sense.

I used marijuana through half of my 1st child and she is bright and well mannered. I continued with my 2nd but he came out early and I got in a lot of troubled cause my drug test came out positive even though he came out clean. I would like to say that I continued with my 3rd but after all the system did to me and my family I waited till I was clean to go to the Dr. it sucks that the system makes it hard on users with kids cause no matter what they come 1st. Hopefully one day it will be legalized and we don’t have to worry about the government taking are kids away from us cause we smoke pot.

Hello Eliza. Ive read your story. I am 9 months pregnant and like yourself have used pot to deal with my morning sickness and lack of appetite. Ive recently went to my check-up and the Dr. informed me if i came out positive once I was admited to the hospital and delivered my baby, tey would call Child Protection Services!!!!REALLY? Do us mothers not have any freedom to choose alternative medicine?Please let me know what happened at the Hospital when u came out positive. I am aware this happened 3yrs ago.Any information will be helpful. THANK YOU

If the baby’s first poop test positive, then you may get a visit from CPS. However, they must have a reason to test your baby’s poop. So if you had a risky or complicated pregnancy, they may run some “research” test. As long as you don’t have a history of drug abuse within your state, you will be fine. CPS will NOT take your baby. They WILL visit your home but that is protocol to make sure you have made a safe environment for your baby to live in. Now the next baby you have, you may run into some problems since by then you would have had a record with your state. Overall,don’t stress about it. It happened to me and the experience wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Hint: Do not allow any “research testing” done on your baby…..that just gives them a reason to test for drugs.

Hello Anonymous! I had the same thing happen in the state of TN. They tested baby because I was 100% honest about my drug use. I was also armed with research and a medical history that would make any doctors belly ache! CPS was called, they did NOT take baby for any length of time however I threatened to fight the Social Worker for my baby. (Hey I was on whatever they give you for a Csection, don’t judge!) She made an appointment to come into the home. We had two meetings and I had to pass a drug test before she would go away. Which I passed and she closed the case.

After stopping the MJ all of my labs were out of whack! My cholesterol went from 173 to 207! My blood pressure was higher, I needed heavy narcs for my wrist pain… which I never knew existed until I quit smoking! I was terrified that they would force me to be in the system a really long time and that I would see long term effects of the meds that were needed to fix all the out of whack labs! I would go in prepared and through the book of research at them. So long as you only have MJ in your system and NOTHING else you should be okay.

I’m so happy to have found this video. I feel that anyone who looks into marijuana, whether firsthand or from a scientific standpoint, can see that the positive effects far outweigh any (IF any) negative effects of the “drug”. I have been smoking marijuana (or eating ganja foods, hard candies, drops, etc) to deal with anxiety and depression for the past 4 or 5 years, and think that the social perception of the “drug” needs to change from the legalization of a “drug” to the reintroduction of a PLANT to it’s natural habitat. For now though, instead of going straight for full blown, unregulated legalization (such a silly way of looking at a plant.. that you have to legalize something natural. that’s like making having a poplar in your yard criminal), medical and/or small-possession decriminalization, as the first step, will have to do. p34c3, love and potsmoke for all :)

I am 50 yrs old,I have had 5 pregnancy,between the age of 21 to 30…I took making babies seriously, I gave up salt,caffeine,alcohol, nicotine and any thing else that might have been bad…I gave birth to 5 perfect children,no complications,the only thing I didn’t give up was Pot….I breast feed till there 1st birthdays….still smoking Pot….my children were never sick as babies or growing up…. they love each other very much…all 5 graduated high school,with teachers telling me, they wished all there students were like my kids… my kids took turns being on the honor roll…so anybody that thinks Pot is bad should get there head checked….Its that simple …POT can save the planet….GIVE POT A CHANCE….

I am the mother of three children, the first two I did not smoke with, as I had no morning sickness or nausea. But the third pregnancy was harder and I was sick all the time, so smoked to control this and level out my moods. My youngest is now nearly three years old.
The reason I have started researching this is because he is completely different then the other two. Very wild, has trouble paying attention and listening. Also has huge behavioral issues. Terrible tantrums that will last and last over simple things like opening his snack the wrong way or peeling an orange. He is enrolled with specialist that come in my home and work with him currently. He is very intelligent and baffles his teacher with how well he catches on, it’s mainly his behavior.
What I am getting at is- I wanted to know if I did this to him. Did I cause this and make him this way by smoking?? Am I a horrible mother and ruin my sons life?
It is great to see that there is research being done and good to hear that it’s outcome completely differs from the rest… But why is your research correct and not theirs?
Please don’t get me wrong I am very happy to hear what you have to say, but the officials will most likely down it. What can I say in your and my defense?
Thank you for your hard work and wonderful research, I do feel much better after reading this.
~A struggling mom of a gifted child

Hi :)
I have two children, 8 yr old boy and a 5 yr old girl.
I smoked with both, more with my daughter.
My daughter is amazing! very smart, popular little girl way beyond her years.
My Son sounds just like yours babe. He was diagnoised with Aspergers, (a form of Autism) at 4yrs.
I too for years thought I had done this to my little boy and I was a terrible mother..
The thing is.. The experts dont know what causes Autism Spectrum disorder, and maybe never will :(
I honestly in my heart dont think smoking Marijuana had anything to do with this now :)
He to is gifted :)
I really hope you find out what going on with your little one..
If you need to chat im here :) I know how scary it can be, it helps to have people who understand..
Good Luck Babe :)
Lina

I have two children a nine year old boy who i did not smoke marijuana with while carrying him. He came at 31weeks premature. 4lbs 7oz 19″. He is my miracle baby. My second son is five. I smoked with him until five months. I became ill from the smell so i stopped. I carried him until 37 weeks. He came out 6lbs 11oz. Almost full term. He came out healthy. A lil respiratory distress because of swallowing after birth. He was diagnosed with pdd-nos. I blamed myself for years about his special gift. Research shows that it is hereditary, or enviormental. So becoming edu ated helped me cope. I have been diagnosed with SLE and RA. I am consistenly in pain. Pain management is vicodine. I am the mother of two bustling boys. I camt be doped up on pain meds. So smoking mj became my solice. It helps the pain. And keeps my mood stable because of the pain. Just found out im pregnamt woth baby number three. I tried to quit but my body started to hurt. Morning sickness is bananas so smoking is a help. I no longer smoke cigars with my mj though. Rice papers. It helps so much. This research is very important. Keep jp the good work.

I’ve often heard that the more intelligent a child is, the more likely they are to have behavioral problems. Their brains work in a different way than most children which makes it hard for parents and teachers to find a way to teach them. This in no way means there is anything wrong with your child. It is completely normal. Sounds like he may have a touch of OCD as well. And as for the other research out there that is different from this, we know the government lies to us all the time, especially about cannabis. I know from experience that most of the things they publish are lies. It really comes down to what your gut says is right. Good luck!

Your child is gifted, not behaviorally challenged. Sometimes this just means he / she just has more creative energy. This is normal with higher intelligence. My son is exactly the same as my father was and my Grandmother didn’t smoke anything while she was pregnant. TAG children can be a handful but they are amazing in every way. Embrace your child and don’t ever feel guilt, he’s amazing!

i have had depression, anxiety and agoraphobia all my life to the point where i get ssi checks. I smoked pot til about 21 wks pregnant instead of the xanex they tried to prescribe me. I quit because i was scared they would take my baby and now at 26wks pregnant i am feeling depressed lethargic anxious and even suicidal, which only makes me feel more guilt ridden. I hope i can make it the rest of my pregnancy without my MEDICATION (pot). But i plan to breastfeed and again am worried about them taking my baby. But i know its so much better than formula feeding. I worry about postpartum depression and without pot i dont know what to do. I need my medicine it doesnt make me a bad mom.

drink tea with red valarian root in it…there’s a bear in pj’s sitting in a chair on the box & i believe it says “SLEEPY TIME” also that same brand has another on that says “TENSION TAMER” ….both help with nausea & anxiety….when i drank the one with the bear on the front I was VERYY calm & chill….try that :) hope it helps a little

Hello all. I found this wonderful website on another site trying to find something out. I am grateful to have found this site. I have a question for anyone that can give me some answers. I am currently 30 weeks pregnant and I want to know how to detox my body safely before my baby boy is born. I recently went to the hospital due to severe pain in my stomach and it was due to dehydration. It wasn’t the hospital I go to for my appointments as that one is farther away. Anyhow… they did a drug test and it came back positive for thc. I had no idea about until I went to see my family doc today for some test results on another matter. I smoke occasionally. It’s been about once a month for about 3-5 days smoking 2-4 times a day. Today was the last day I have smoked and it was only once today. I just want to know how to cleanse my system so I don’t have to fear them taking my child from me due to thc being in my system. I agree it helps with pain, vomiting which I still have, depression and fatigue!!! It simply is the best medicine out there. I would much rather smoke ganja than to take any pill the government has put out there!!! So please help me with any info you have!!! Thanks so much and bless you all… much peace n love!!!

there are herbal tea’s one that helps with nausea & another to help relieve tension aka anti anxiety tea….u can find them in really any grocery store…the nausea one has a bear on it & i believe says SLEEPY TIME on it (it makes you relaxed as well) and the other says TENSION TAMER on it…sorry dont know the exact name but really any tea with red Valerian root in it will help with nausea & to relax you…hope this kind of helps

I am 9 weeks pregnant with severe nausea, vommiting, and motion sickness. Ill be graduating this year from high school & i have found marijuana to help me out to be able to get out of bed able to function to eat. I had a previous pregnancy were i got a abortion because the sickness got out of control i wasnt able to handle it i tought i was dying & getting severe anxiety attacks & was weak lost 10lb in a week no medication helped & i never tought of marijuana wish i should of.

I smoked Cannibis during my pregnancy and through nursing him also. When he was 4 , I knew he was extremely bright and had him tested. They didn’t have a test geared for a 4 year old the closest was a test for 8 year olds. He scored A 152 IQ!! He was reading at 2 doing math at 3 and understood the concept of the universe at 31/2. He has taught ME alot. Now he is a 32 year old male nurse that takes care of kids with CP. I am proud of him and I don’t see where smoking cannibis did him any harm.

I read about this before getting pregnant as I was concerned about what could/would happen. I would be classed as a heavy smoker, dont drink much, but do smoke.
Took folic acid for a year before finally getting pregnant, lost a heap of weight (72 kg > 59kg) and was being medicated by the Dr due to stress and anxiety attacks.
Got pregnant first try to a donor (not ivf) smoked all the way through.
This was my second pregnancy, first was ivf, which I smoked hardly anything. He was born at 22 weeks and didnt survive. Took 5 years to move on from that.
This pregnancy went to 31 weeks. A beautiful girl Charlotte Daniel Rose, nothing wrong with her apart from being 2 months early. From the day she arrived (after 3 3/4 hour labor) she never looked back. Everyone commented on how cute she was, as prems are usually ‘not so cute’.Nurses threatened to steal her. lol
Shes 11 mths old now, never been sick, was in hospital for 5 1/2 weeks. Had two vaccinations also.
Im not saying to people to start up smoking when you get pregnant. But there is no evidential proof to say it harms you, or the baby

I am currently 33 weeks along and stopped smoking, cause of the fear of them taking my little girl. I have anxiety extremely bad as well as back pain and morning sickness. I just wondered, do they really take your child from you of you were to drop dirty???? And how do I deal with all the issues I have without being able to smoke cause when I did in the earlier stadge

Continued…. Smoking help me over come the anxiety and morning sickness… As I can’t smoke now … It’s all coming back slowly but surely… I love the fact that I found out that it has no harmful effects on the baby… But why Sotheby’s doctors make it such a BIG thing…. Please if someone knows … What they do if you drop dirty or when in what cases do they drop you ??? Please and thanks …

I smoked marijuana through my 1st pregnancy and was never tested for drug use. There were no adverse effect and my daughter was born healthy and happy. I am now on my second pregnancy. When I had my first doctors appointment at around 8 weeks they tested my urine for all sorts of things when I came back at 12 weeks my doctor casually mentioned that I had THC in my system. He has not said anything else about it. I am almost @ 20 weeks and have not quit marijuana use. I am a medical marijuana patient and I ingest the THC and not smoke it for treatment of a neurodegenerative disease that I have. There is no other medicine that they can give me to treat my spastic disorder. I am worried about any repercussions my current marijuana use might have on my family. I am nervous to talk to my OB as this may cause more problems for me and my family along the line. I’m not sure what to do…

If you are perscribed TCH pills, they can’t take your baby away from you for drug use. You are using the medications that your doctor prescribed. Especially since it’s a neurodegenerative disease. If the dr who prescribed the THC hasn’t told you to stop taking them, I think you’re safe. Just explain the situation to your OB

I gave birth to my son in 2008 in CA. The day he was born I tested positive for thc but he was negative. I was immediately harassed by a social worker who claimed they could take my son from me. His father and I ended up having to be randomly drug tested once a week, for about 6 months, despite the fact that he had a scrip and I passed the first drug test after my son was born. We also were required to attend two or three drug classes a week, where we had to pretend to relate to pcp and crack addicts. I asked a few times how i could be charged with neglect if nobody had proof that it was harmful to my baby, the occassional smoking I partook in for nausea and anxiety. They would say I couldnt prove it wasnt harmful but I did it anyway. When i asked how it was better to take anxiety meds with much scarier psychological and physical effects, they would tell me that it was bad to be high around your kid. So what if i only do it at nap/bed time? Then you’re spending your money on drugs instead of stuff for the baby! What if I only buy it once he has everything he needs? Then you’re sacrificing something he could have for your habit!! My case with the state of CA is to remain “open” until 2026 on my boy’s eighteenth. I’m now 10 weeks pregnant with my second child. To avoid any more trauma I will not be smoking this time around.

sad to say but the only sure thing even with your card is to quit until after the birth it is truly the only way to not have problems legally, I’m in Colorado and we just went threw it, it’s an unwinnable situation.

Hi, I live in Colorado and just found out I’m 2 days pregnant and I am a frequent medical marijuana user, due to chronic migraines. Day 2 of my pregnancy and I was in the ER, went through 3 IV bags, due to the fact that I’m already experiencing terrible nausea.

Would you mind going into more detail about what you “went through”? Even though it’s now legal in Colorado, did you have to defend yourself to CPS?

I’m 90% sure I’m going to have a rough pregnancy (not being negative – I just have a feeling) and I fully intend to use medical marijuana in order to continue functioning. Am I going to need to quit a month before birth to ensure I don’t “get in trouble”?

I Love you for publishing that.!!! (:
I always knew this was truee… I mean Marijuana is not bad, its a natural herb. It makes Yu feel good and let’s Yu enjoy youre day (: if mommy is feels good; baby fells good.!

I’m about 7 months along and just quit herb because my doctor told me they would test at birth ( NYS) and the baby would not come home with me if he tested positive.

What kills me, is I stopped 3 antidepressants because they could harm the baby. I went through horrific withdrawals that could have cost me the baby but I did not want him in a chemical stew. It makes me sick that the government would A perform testing on my infant without cause or consent, and B has the audacity to say you can feel free to buy drugs from your doctor but organic plants from a friend is completely heinous and proves you are unfit.

So now pot, the only thing that has helped me deal with my depression I was previously heavily medicated for, the only thing that helps my nausea and allows me to eat without guilt ( former eating disorder ) is taken from me out of fear the baby I have given everything up for will not come home with me.

Im also in NYS. About 4 weeks pregnant. My only concern is CPS and the doctors…. I smoke for my bi polar disorder. I dont drink (never been a drinker) and do not take any medication for my issues just marijuana. I suppose stopping mid way through would be a good way to keep them at bay but im worried my hormones will send me on an emotional rollercoaster and manic -depressive states. Even though medical mj is legal here now I do not have a card. I just dont want this to become a CPS issue… sad that this is world we live in. Where pain killers and opieds are ok but mj with all its natural benefits has good wholesome people scared. My fiancee and I are both gainfully employed, highly educated, and socially comfortable with a beautiful house and small horse farm. Yet im scared of being trotted around like a criminal and a terrible parent…

Thanks for the informative info about using medical marijuana during pregnancy… my girl doesn’t eat much and at times doesn’t eat at the most a week because of the morning sickness… I will consider marijuana as a second option to help my wife be healthy…. thanks and keep me posted with any updates…

I smoked throughout my entire pregnancy about 3 (blunts/joints) a day and not only did I have a problem free pregnancy(including not one day of morning sickness), I now have a 3 yearold functioning at a 5-6 year old level! By the time she was one month old, she had a wonderful sleeping routine making me the most well rested new single mother ever!! I was back to work exactly 17 dzays after delivery for me. I truly belive that my child is smarter and more well nourished because of the weed and would recommend pregnant women to jump on the bandwagon and begin making smarter babies!!!!

ill be 34 weeks on wednesday and smoke from the time i wake up till i go to sleep at night. it helps me with everything from emotions, to pain, from eating to sleeping. im debating on quiting in fear he will test positive for thc when hes born and i dont want to have him taken from me… but these last few weeks are supposed to be the hardest. i dont know what to do? someone help :(

do they really drug test all moms and babies at birth? i haven’t heard that this would be done, and it’s very enraging that given no reason to suspect any kind of other issues they should do that without consent. i hate how being in a hospital seems to take away your rights as a human, and being pregnant and giving birth makes you a “patient” in a hospital. anyway, i’m like Jordan and smoke rather consistently throughout the day and have been during this pregnancy it’s helped so much with my anxiety, depression, nausia and inappetance. I recently lost my mother as well and have had a hard time this pregnancy with my mood, the ganga helps tremendously. I’ve giving birth at a birth center and am seeing midwifes, so far no drug tests so I really hope this doesn’t come up! I’m going to be a great mom, even if I do smoke weed just as my parents did with me. (and i turned out OK, at least intelligence wise which is probably why i do deal with being overly sensitive and having anxiety/depression :)

Hi I am in Pennsylvania and I am 2 months along. I would be called a “pot head” as I have used since I was a teen, but it helps with morning sickness, mood swings and sleeping. If I don’t smoke I am irritable, nauseous, and food… don’t even bother bringing it near me if I haven’t smoked because I can’t even stomach the smell or sight of even my favorite dishes. I am trying to find information on the laws and testing of THC in pregnancy and what if any repercussions there are in my area. I do not believe there is any sustainable evidence weed harms your baby. And I want to make sure I won’t have to deal with CYS or some other letter organization taking my bean away.

I am six and a half months pregnant. I have smoked the entire length of my pregnancy so far. I live in California and have had a card for years. However, I am finding it hard to get a card while pregnant despite the legalization of marijuana in this state. I have many back, and sleep problems that have put me on disability for years. I have to have a multiple doctors sign me off for legal reasons. No one wants the legal reproductions of signing off a pregnant for a cannabis card when it’s such a hot button issue still. I understand, my feeling is to continue smoking I consider myself informed on the issue and have spoken to several doctors, and have gotten back no negative feed back as far as side affects. So I guess my real question is if I can not get my card renewed until after the baby is born, can they do anything from a legal stand point if I test positive for marijuna?Which is currently the only thing I take. It helps with many of the not do pleasant side effects of pregnacy. Now, don’t get me wrong I am actively seeking to get mine renewed but I am scared, of what may happen if I can’t. Can any one offer me real advice on this. I’m not interested in opinion, I work with facts. Thank you for any help you can give me.

I am 25weeks pregnant with triplets, it seems like marijuana helps me with my hormones and emotional breakdowns, also it helps out with my appitite. I didnt think pot would be that harmful because all the reseaarching im doing on it. The only thing the doctors tell me is to stay away from ciggerettes, but…what about pot ? :D

I am in Canada, I smoked the beginning of my pregnancy till around 16 weeks and started again later on in my pregnancy due to undiagnosed stomach ulcers (doctors kept telling me it was just gas). I had a very easy labor and delivery. I continued to smoke when I needed to from pain while breastfeeding. I never had any problems with my daughter and everyone would always comment on how bright and aware she seemed as a baby and reached milestones early.
I have heard they do a blood test on all babies to “test for genetic diseases” which in the USA apparently includes testing for thc and other drugs. Often times parents are not asked for consent for those tests or are unaware as to what they are consenting to.
If you are concerned about testing I would consider having a home birth if you have no complications. Or have a birth plan and partner with you to enforce the decisions such as no blood test, no eye drops, no vit. k shot, no hep.b vaccine etc. It is extremely hard to avoid them without full support of a partner/friend or doula. Even with their support the hospital may try very hard to change your mind and bully you into it.

Hi, this is Larissa, I’m not pregnant yet, but am hoping to be so soon. Now I use medical MJ, for a number of reasons which helps me more than my pills. Now, since most pills are not to be taken while pregnant is it ok if I continue my medical smoking.I just want the baby and me to be healthy as possible, and stop getting all these daunting looks that it will harm the baby. Please Help! (Soon to be pregnant!)

I just found out I am 6 weeks preggo. I haven’t been smoking so much as I have been eating. I use cannabutter in EVERYTHING. Has anyone else ate medical mj during entire pregnancy or at least in the beginning? What were your children like?

I have bipolar/depression and clinical anxiety. Diagnosed at age 14. They had me on heavy anti psychotic meds that made me a zombie. When I was pregnant with my first who is now 13 mo I smoked BC of the issues I already have plus nausea vomiting no appetite weight loss and extreme increase in anxiety from the pregnancy. He came out perfect 8 lbs 5 oz 21″ they called child services on me in the hospital. Nothing became of it no investigation BC they didn’t see any other substances in me or him. I did notice he was a very good infant slept all Night starting at nine days babbled at four weeks! Eye contact And he met all milestones way early! He’s still advanced :). I do believe weed helped both of us. Now I’m pregnant again now six weeks. I plan on quitting due to the drama of child services! I’m very sick can’t eat can’t sleep sweat all the time racing heart I believe is from dehydration and starvation ill talk to the midwife at my first apt. About what to do. Its sad that I’m viewed as an unfit parent that’s bullshit……

This has been very useful as well as all the comments I have been reading.
I’m 18 and around 8weeks pregnant, I used to smoke cannabis heavily and everyday. I have cut down from finding out im pregnant. Still smoke everyday but not as much. Its going okay but find it.hard to get to sleep without a joint at night.. I dont want to be judged for smoking weed but everyone knows me as to be a cannabis user. Do I just carry on smoking a little at night ? really concerned as I dont want to strangle my babys development. Will everything be okay ? So worried so honest opinions please what do I do ?

Thank you for this wonderful article. I gave birth 10 years ago to my son after smoking ganja my whole pregnancy due to losing ridiculous amounts of weight because of horrible nausea & vomiting that lasted well into my 7th month of pregnancy. Had it not been for marijuana, my son would not have received proper nutrition while growing in my womb. He is extremely healthy, never had any illnesses or defects, and is at the top of his class. As a baby& toddler, everyone always commented on what an absolutely wonderful disposition he has. I would do it just the same if I got pregnant again & had the same issues I had 10 years ago. And now I’m in the US, with my medical card allowing me to do so :)

Oh come on…….there is a study out there that will show the opposite if that is what you are looking for…that is true of any study…..and,
the study in Jamaica reflects not only the use of cannabis but also the culture, diet and attitude of the use of cannabis. Bottom line: you don’t know and you are experimenting with your baby.

The study in Jamaica is only one of thousands of study’s, what you will have a hard time finding out is the TRUTH about Marijuana use during pregnancy, but there is allot more data supporting the Medical use of Marijuana then data saying that it’s harmful and I mean actual study’s and facts not someones opinion, which everyone has the right to but when you make comments atleast try to know what your talking about educate yourself a little there’s plenty of good information out there.

We live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where we have legal Medical Marijuana and recently passed “Recreational Marijuana” I voted for the Medical Marijuana back in 2000 when it passed, at that time my daughter had been in a severe crash and had many severe injuries, the Doctors told us she would have to take Pain Medications for the rest of her life, this included Oxycodon, Oxycontin, Hydrocodon you name it she had it and needed to take it to try to live with the pain because she was never going to be ‘Pain free’ with no amount of medications, in 2007 we went to a new Pain Management Dr. and he recommended Medical marijuana, I had thought it was strictly for Cancer Patients, but the Dr. explained that it worked very well for pain in many cases, so we tryed it out and it did help her, she cut way back on the Narcotics which she was sick from the side effects IE: nausea, and even thou she still had to take some of the Narcotic pain meds the MMJ helped with the negative side effects of the Meds. 9 months ago she got pregnant, she was very worried about all the Medications she was taking, she discussed it with her OB Dr. (which had never recommended MMJ or really knew anything about it.) But the Dr. was open minded enough to discuss it and to see what happened, well, I’m happy to say (I’m the Grandpa) My Grand daughter was born 7lbs,5ozs 20 inches long scored a 9 on the Apgar scale so she was very healthy, my daughter was able to cut back almost 95% use of the Narcotic Pain Medications and used the Medical Marijuana twice daily, just a few puffs or an edible (cupcake ect) and the Dr. saved part of the cord to test to see what kind of levels of THC might have crossed the placenta if much at all, and he’s going to start building this information for medical basis, also this Dr. is one of the top OB Dr’s in Colorado, with a great reputation, so hopefully this will be the beginning of some kind of research on the subject, but this is our experience, so far except the part about the hospital referring this to the Colorado Child Services, as it was explained to us “Your Medical Marijuana Card allows YOU to use MMJ but doesn’t give you the right to use it on your unborn baby” so they referred it to CCS which could, or as the RUDE lady at the hospital told us “Would result in a Misdemeanor charge of child abuse” we found out that CCS comes out talks to you and inspects your home to make sure the child has a good home and is safe and not exposed to unhealthy condition’s and it is then up to CCS to file any charges if they feel there appropriate, so I don’t think it’s a “for sure” that the Mother is charged but if she is We will be fighting it to the Colorado Supreme Court because my Daughter has never been in ANY trouble or has ANY criminal record, and I want it to stay that way, I’ll try to get back with everyone on the out come.

Well, it took a couple of months but the CPS here in Colorado did charge my daughter with Child abuse with Medium severity/Intra Familial Neglect/ Environment Injurious, They called this a “Confirmation” and it will go right onto my Daughters permanent record and will remain on her record for the rest of her life. The only alternative we have is to appeal the “Confirmation” which is what we’re going to do, but being this is a “Confirmation” and it has been “confirmed” I really don’t see us getting anywhere with the appeal but we’ve heard they might give her a choice of (3) three alternatives, one of them being a 12 month time period where if my daughter has no other legal problems (which she won’t because she has never been in trouble ever.) it will be supposedly exsponged from her record, which means it won’t come up if an employer runs a background check, BUT in the letter my daughter received stated that even if this the ruling was reversed or it was exsponged it will still be in a state file where if in the future something was to happen, lets say my Granddaughter falls and gets hurt the state can pull this back up so it really never goes away. We have 90 days to appeal and request a “State Level hearing” which we are doing, We have my Daughters OB. Dr. on our side, because he told her not to quit using MMJ even thou he wasn’t the prescribing Dr. He has started his own study and research on the subject even thou he has had only ONE patient that was Honest and straight forward about her use of MMJ during her Pregnancy, all the other Moms did not reveal this to there Dr. so he really hasn’t had much of a chance to study this subject. I will update as I get Info and find out what happens with my Daughter, even if we don’t solve this for my Daughter maybe this will start the ball rolling for other Mothers to be, because my question has always been if it’s Illegal to expose your unborn baby to one LEGAL medication why is it legal to expose your baby to all the other Legal drugs IE: Oxycodone, Oxycontin, Ect, Ect, too many to list. Good Luck to all the Moms to be, I feel for you and what you have to go threw during Pregnancy, I hope it will get a little easier in the near future!!

D.G., why did they test her? Was it the maternity staff at the hospital? I live in Springs and my OB told me that while “she wouldn’t turn me in” that if something went wrong with the baby it could open up an investigation and DHS would be involved. I’m 21 weeks and your daughter’s story is terrifying. I asked my OB whether or not the baby’s meconium would be clean if I quit right now and she told me “I think so.”

This gives me little hope. Did they test your daughter’s baby’s mecomium or just urine? Also, if I may ask, what hospital did she deliver in?

I stopped smoking when I found out I was pregnant. I recently started smoking it again not too long ago. My OB tested me for drugs, and it came back positive. He told me to quit smoking, or when I deliver my baby in January, the hospital will call CPS if the baby tests positive. My sister-in-law smoked the entire time she was pregnant, and my nephew is a genius. I don’t want to quit, especially since it won’t harm the baby, but I don’t feel like dealing with CPS, or listening to my doctor complain about using “drugs”. I even told him I didn’t smoke. I didn’t know they were going to test me.

Unfortunately for Mothers like yourself and other Moms that don’t abuse drugs or alcohol but use a little Marijuana to relieve allot of nasty side effects of being pregnant one inparticular ” Morning Sickness” It works wonders for it, but because of these woman that abuse Meth and other Narcotics including Cocaine and Heroin the government has started Drug Testing of all new born baby’s and usually the Mothers too and you don’t have a choice in the matter and when they find any Drugs in a Mothers and then the baby’s system there can and usually is charges that follow, even when you have a Medical MMJ card and you’ve told your Dr. that you use MMJ and even thou the OB Dr. didn’t prescribe the MMJ he told her to cut back a little, but to not put herself in pain and Morning sickness by quitting, but to continue the use of MMJ, but the logic of the State is “The MMJ card allows YOU to use Marijuana but not the right to expose your baby” thats exactly what they told her. so it’s a catch 21 big time. Good Luck

We found out something else about the whole mess with the MMJ and charges that might be brought against a woman, You can hire an attorney the best there is, but you WILL NOT win it’s state/state so it’s un- winnable so don’t waste your money, I’m referring to those that have a MMJ card and might think that makes it all legal…….sorry it really doesn’t, and I’m speaking from Colorado Springs, Co

Well the story is that it builds up in fatty cells in your body and will usually stay in your system for 30-45 days depending on how heavy of a user you are, and they make several different “De-tox” drinks you can buy, I don’t know if they work but I’ve heard that some of them do, the only other way is to quit and flush your system out and buy a home drug test to make sure your clean before testing, now this is for urine tests only, if they do a hair sample supposedly the history of any drug use is recorded in your hair back as far as the age of that particular hair sample, I’m a retired Navy Vet (27yrs) so this is all new to me but being my daughter was advised to try MMJ I’ve studied up a little on it, this doesn’t really mean I’m any more knowledgeable than the next guy I’m just passing on what I’ve read and found out threw the ordeal with my Daughter.

I had to get a pre-employment urinalysis and I passed with only 10 days of not smoking. Your BMI and how much you smoke will affect how long it takes to get out of your system. Not everyone is the same. I’ll bet Snoop-Dog couldn’t pass a test in 10 days!

I am almost 9 months pregnant 3rd pregnancy i have used marijuana for 10 years and through each pregnancy. my kids are very bright and dont have any “disorders” that doctors claim marijuana causes from using while pregnant. now with this pregnancy i am being threatened with Child Protective Services and i am worried they are going to take my son when he is born. so worried i have quit smoking and have been flushing my system with cranberry and water. what should i do?

Krissy, It sounds like you don’t have a MMJ card and/or don’t live in a state where MMJ is legal, I know that most states even if they charge you they won’t take your Baby, They do that only with the Moms who have used Meth, Cocain ect. ect. now you can have your system clean in 30 days or so, but your state might be like Colorado and many other states, they will test the Baby’s first Bowel movement and from what I’ve been told they can detect most anything you did while Pregnant, I guess the Fecal matter in your baby’s bowels will retain the THC, but if you’ve quit and clean your system out maybe it won’t show in your babys system, My Daughter found out that being honest about MMJ use even when you have a MMJ card and your in a legal state doesn’t pay off, it seems to us that by being honest is what got them to test my daughter and her baby, I’m not trying to tell you to not be honest…………but… do what you feel is right, and if you live in a state where MMJ is not legal I wouldn’t Volunteer any more information then possible. Krissy Good Luck with I’m sure will be another beautiful baby, and I hope the CPS people don’t mess with you, but in the future if it’s that bad in your state I wouldn’t use MMJ just to avoid the hassle, I am pretty sure thou that they won’t take your baby for marijuana use during your pregnancy. GOOD LUCK!

At the time my Son-in-laws Insurance had not taken effect and my Daughter was on Medicaid, we believe that was why she was tested and she was honest with her OB Dr. and had told him she was using MMJ, but I think if your on Medicaid they automatically test them, and yes they did test the baby’s first bowel movement, this was at the Memorial North hospital on the north east side of the Springs. A very nice hospital but not the friendliest bunch, you could tell there was allot of personal opinions involved in all of this, but in the mean time her baby is beautiful and healthy and is one of the happiest baby’s I’ve ever seen, Good luck to all the other Mom’s, I hope you don’t have the same problems we have, but at no time did they threaten to take her baby or anything like that, so don’t worry about them taking your baby

I have found out that because my Daughter was honest and legal by having a MMJ card and telling her Dr. that she had a card and was using MMJ, since the Dr. had no problem with it but a so called case worker at the hospital seen that she had told everyone she used MMJ and no one referred her to CPS that the hospital staff took it upon themselves to file with the state even before the tests came back positive, so A Case worker at the hospital has her opinions about MMJ and decided on her own to file it, my Daughters baby scored a 9-10 on her Apgar score, most babys do not score this high whether their mothers use MMJ or not. but it would have been fine if she had taken all of the Narcotics the Dr.’s had prescribed her even thou the prescriptions were for my Daughter not her baby, it’s a catch 22 and is not respected as a medication. I have a beautiful Daughter and a beautiful Granddaughter and the so called case worker knows that but still filed this and it makes me Mad as heck, don’t be suprised if one of the local news channels runs a story on this because I’m going to take every opportunity to change this if not in time for my own but for the rest of the poor moms that suffer because of a 1938 mind set, ( 1938 the year Marijuana was classified as a narcotic in the same category as Cocaine or Heroin).

Thank you, D.G.!! This prohibition is CRAZY. I sincerely hope that we see this on the news! I work with some local MMJ organizations if you would like to speak to anyone regarding this. I’m sure the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council has some GREAT resources and can get the ball rolling with the news. I’ve been harassed and bullied because I use cannabis for neurological problems and I can attest that these caseworkers are looking to make examples out of people because of their personal biased opinions.

They do test the baby’s first bowel movement and supposedly everything you’ve done during the pregnancy will show up in the baby’s fecal matter even if you had quit months earlier, the only way this might not test positive is if your baby is mercomium stained at birth, because they can’t test what the baby has expelled in the womb, but they will test any bowel movement after birth so all I can say is GOOD LUCK MOMS

I feel for you people in the US with such a nanny state, they are fighting you regarding something that is quite natural and is only illegal because of early last century the Americans didnt like the Mormons and Mexicans, who smoked a lot of it.
Prior to it being illegal, back in 1690, US state Jamestown farmers were ordered to grow hemp for money to pay taxes. It was illegal to NOT grow it. This government control continued into all states over the centuries whereas all farmers had to grow a % of there land in hemp.
It became illegal between 1910 and 1920’s. So quite recent. And all because Americans didnt like certain races of people, it was made illegal.
Sadly NZ followed suit and made it illegal to smoke mid last century based on the Americvan theory it was bad for you, but we arnt tested while pregnant or after birth.

My daughter is three months pregnant and uses marihuana to control her seizures because nothing else seems to work. All the research we have done has proven not to be harmful to the baby. We are concerned as to what doctors could do once they find out.

I smoked pot every day of my pregnancy with my 5 year old son. He came out a healthy weight….is rarely sick….needed zero hospitalization….is now in kindergarten and is top of the class. He is stronger and more built than a majority of the class. He is very alert …very smart and I am a true believer of this miracle while pregnant. It kept me sane and calm and I will do so again.

? Did they give you and your child a drug test.I am curcurrently expecting I’ll be 36 weeks tomorrow I’m due early November. I’ve cut back a lot during my pregnancy. So much as to maybe once or twice a week. I didn’t smoke with my first child, and I had a good pregnancy. This pregnancy has been really hard on me, I’ve always been depressed and sad, not too mention the father left (he never had any intentions on sticking around) so im really alone in this. All my appointment s have been good and as well as my urine. I know they didn’t drug test me when I had my daughter (unless they did and I didn’t know). Smoking has kept me calm and helped with my appetite especially being alone during my pregnancy. I will be delivering at the same hospital (under different insurance I had medicad with my daughter). I’m hoping that I don’t have any problems because this pregnancy alone has been rough for me.

This honestly calmed my nerves so much. I know many who smoked weed throughout multiple pregnancies, but I was seriously worried about if it would have any problems for my kid. Given, I am underage at this time, but in 3 months, I hope to obtain a green card and be a medical patient. Anyway, thank you so much for this calming news. I’m glad my little one won’t have any adverse effects to mummy’s need to smoke weed due to allergies to acetaminophen.

Hi, I’m very confuse about using cannabis during pregnancy. I suffer from PTSD, Bipolar Type II and Severe Depression on top of all I have severe episodes of Anxiety attacks. I’m ashamed of myself for posting all my problems.

I suffer from chronic pain on my Jam I have developed Osteoarthritis. My Husband and I would love to get pregnant, but my biggest fear is to harm my baby because my chronic pain is severe Taking Oxycodone or Oxycodine for pain when it doesn’t work morphine and other intravenous drugs are my only options.

I want to find a natural alternative that will not harm a baby during pregnancy. I live in Canada. Thanks for your detail article and all mom’s here sharing your experiences. I don’t smoke or drink alcohol or any other substance beside my medications.
This will be a strong option to consider there is no way I can stop my pain killers for 9 months. I dream to be a mom and the only thing that is stopping me is the possibility to harm a baby during pregnancy because pain killers and other drugs.

Thanks for sharing because this is my only option so far that I have found to be natural and with real effects. Again thanks everyone for sharing.

I came off lovan a drug so happi nothing was ful of depression or anxiety,.
When I found myself pregnant I went off it,.
But still suffered from this horrible mind control,.
I’ve been smoking gunja almost my whole pregnacy an this postof. research is a blessing to read, I thik its way beta than takin over the couter medicine for sure,. It makes me feel at ease an cope a lot more than not havn anythig

Today, I went to the beachfront with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She placed the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tell someone!

I’m a very high ricks mother with ptsd, adhd, depression, and anxiety, and I’m border line APA witch I have to take lovenox shots for everyday, last but not least I have mthfr factor witch isn’t a big thing, but with all this going on in my pregnancies i have come to realize pot is the only thing that saved my child! I’ve lost 3 babies due to all these problems and after being diagonist with this in my third baby i still lost her!! I didn’t smoke or do anything with her but with my fourt pregnancy I did and she is 16 months now and is alive!!!! I live in Iowa so there is no way for me to get pot with out getting charged for it!! DHS is in my life to top it all off and I’m 5 months pregnant and things aren’t going so swell for me!! I rarely ever feel my baby unless I smoke and my moods are so bad I think I’m going to lose it like I did my 3rd baby!!! What do I do? What can I do?

I’m so glad I bumped into this website,damn u guys have it rough in the States.Sorry but ur govt is soooo hypocritical considering all the people who die from alcohol,hard drugs and”herbal highs”.They don’t test us here (Belgium) but people are so judgemental due to being misinformed about pot.I’m at 32 weeks now and if it wasn’t for mj I think I’d HV lost my baby due to loss of appetite,I’ve gained only 6kgs so far and I’m almost at 40 weeks so you can imagine if I didn’t have this lovely herb to help me out.I refuse to take any other drugs though,not even painkillers because the chemicals in those so called medications are like that much worse for bubs and I than this perfectly natural product that isn’t even addictive compared to all the other crap they offer.LEt me tell no one cares more for your baby than u do so don’t feel guilty for wanting what’s best for them,these losers just follow stuff up to make other peoples lives bitter but not because they care for our children’s welfare otherwise they wouldn’t be prescribing all types of medication with weird side effect to pregnant women,they can BITE me for all I care.I’m the one who knows how much I have on my plate and if that’s the only way to cope while I’m pregnant I’m doing it!! Good luck mums and mums to be,no worries,I’ll do great.

Please help me I went through ivf with my husband bc he can’t have kids w out help . I am waiting to find out if it worked. I still have a week to go I suffer from terrible PTSD and panic attacks. My last pregnancy was horrible my sons father left me while I was five months pregnant and had been awful even since (in a nut shell) I was taking Xanax as well as therapy and doing great but I have terrible flash backs bc it’s scary to do it again even if this time it’s perfect. My meds have been making me nauseated and head aches as well. My question. Will marajuana decrease my chances of the ivf working. It had to be safer than anything in Xanax and it would help with both problems. I’m not a doctor but I know Xanax is awful for you especially a fetus. Will marajuana hurt the chances of ivf egg implantation working? Does it cause miscarriages?

I have never heard of mj causing miscarriages. I have healthy pregnancies and use mj as my medication of choice. I don’t tell my docs and so far everthing is fine I am on the 4th mj baby. I think maybe mj can help m.c

I quit smoking at 30 weeks I am wondering if I or the baby will still test positive… I had a friend that smoked the day she went into labor and she tested positive but the baby tested negative…. how is this ?? I live in Kentucky do they always give drug test ?? any information would be greatly appreciated

I am a mother of two MJ babies. My oldest is almost two and is pefecr in every way. My newborn was born on Jan. 28 and is already lifting his head and sleeping through the night (about 6 hours). I planned to birth my baby at home with a midwife, but in Texas a midwife is forbidden from delivery post-term babies past 42my weeks. I was forced to go to a hospital and was drug tested. I was positive for marijuana as was my son and I was reported to CPS. As it stands I am currently under the threat of losing my children because I do not have a relative or family member who can put their life on hold to stay with me and constantly observe me wirh my children. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation in Texas? I have only tested positive for MJ, no other substances, I have refused all post-partum pain medication and had no epidural or any other meds during the birth.

Hi, thanks for posting this. This seems like a valid website that aims to help people. I would like to know more about this, though, and would greatly appreciate if you could point me in the right direction, like any other studies conducted by other scientists which corroborate these. I could look around myself, but obviously the net is littered with a lot of rubbish that goes both ways. It seems like asking you guys is a much better idea. This website seems like a good take-off point for this kind of thing

Being a current psychology student I have access to lots of scholarly journals at no charge. And more than anything there is a huge lack of research on this topic. It is pretty unethical to randomly assign pregnant women to smoke marijuana so women who are known users must be found….issue with this is that there’s no way to be sure that these current users arent / havent been doing a multitude of drugs since becoming pregnant.

So logically this is the study we all fall back on. One single study that only does one short term follow up with the children.

The way I see it is like this. Back in he day women smoked and woman drank while pregnant, but their children turned out just fine. These substances are proven to harm the baby in the womb. But what is important is that when these women HAD their children they were good mothers who took care of their babies and met their every need. There’s a difference between being a mom who smoked a joint or two and being a mom who did excessive amounts of drugs and continued the drugs afterward. Nature vs nurture…..it takes both to mess up a child. At least so it is showing for marijuana thus far.

I fing this highly interesting.. What about those kids at 10 years old? And then 20?
I know someone who smoked heavily during her pregnancy and her child didn’t open her eyes for a good 3 months. When she did open them they didn’t open fully, they looked super stoned. Then at a year she is barely crawling and still has those squinty eyes. She just started successfully grabbing at toys and still chokes on purée food. She honestly seems like an 8 month old as opposed to a year old kid.
And I know only weed was smoked during the pregnancy, no alcohol or any other drug.
Why not just avoid the use of all drugs during pregnancy? Or is the desire to get baked more important than your child being born without a learning disability?
Btw I’m pro marijuana

I’m so conflicted. I’m just past my 13 weeks marker and I’ve been off my prescription anti depressants for a few days after tapering off for two months. Frustration #1. My Dr decided it would be best for me and the baby to be taper off my antidepressants even though it was one of the more risky medications (paxil). On the bottle it specifically says “do not take while pregnant” now this is well known FACT my child can have defects from this drug but he prescribed me more. But refuses to even dispute mj even though all he has to say is “smoke is bad for you it is bad for the baby dont smoke.” Hmmmm….
Frustration #2….my life. I’m a 22 year old woman who four months ago was single, on her way to graduation and graduate school. Now suddenly I’m a mother….back with her long time boyfriend who she was separated from for half a year who not only has to figure THAT situation out. But still needs to graduate….but somehow find a job BEFORE her baby bump appears. Not only this but I live 200 miles away from my family or baby daddy. My friends here have abandoned me since I’ve given up smoking pot and my one and only friend has decided to go off the deep end. I’m incredibly alone and conflicted…..defenceless without the medications I have grown so accustomed to over the past year or more. And I dont know whether I should take a puff or pass. I told my baby daddy I wouldnt and that’s my biggest qualm. Moreover the only research that exists is THIS…..but somehow people still inform me of the neurological damage they are “pretty sure” (in the words of my ob) can happen to the baby.
I don’t want to be the same heavy user I was before I got pregnant…….I just want to feel calm for two seconds. And not like I’m falling in a black hole of uncontrollable consequences.

In my opinion, your emotional health and well being are very important to your growing fetus. I smoked through my entire first pregnancy and used a vaporizer through the second. The only I’ll effects suffered were caused by my being reported to CPS. Both of my children are very healthy. If you quit in time to test negative if you are tested you should be fine.

I’m am a mother of 3 and I am 31 weeks pregnate. I did not smoke with my first child. While I was pregnate with him I had many problems I had high blood pressure, sugar issues, anxiety, depression, and severe morning sickness. He is now 7 and is a very very emotional child. He also has some anxiety issues. When he was born he had the cord wrapped around his neck and also came into the world what they call sunny side up. Now my other to boys I smoked the whole pregnacy. Did not have any troubles what so ever with them. They show different levels of intelligence from the oldest. They were very happy and healthy baby’s. Now I’m am 31 weeks along with my 4 the child. This pregnacy has been particularly hard for me. I have smoked the entire time which keeps my blood pressure and anxiety under control. Now with the first three kids I was never confronted by the doctors about my smoking. This one I have. When he said if you don’t quit smoking I’m getting CPS involved I decided to change doctors. This new doctor has said nothing about it. What my question is can the CPS take my children due to THC in mine and my child’s system when she is born? It all is kinda crazy to me being that 2 children ago nothing was said or done now all of a sudden it is a problem. I also have a friend who just recently had a baby who was positive for THC. The CPS is involved in her case but has not took her children. I’m living in the state of TN. I have tried to quit with this one every time I do my blood pressure sky rockets, I am not able to eat, and my anxiety ends up in overdrive. So to me it seems that quitting now will only harm my baby. Thanks in advance for any advice or comments you may have in advance. #Concerned Mother#

I’m so sorry for you mjmama. You should be ale to use medical marijuana to help you, what a jerk doctor. I’m pregnant and don’t tell my doctor anything. I have healthy babies and easy pregnancies..that’s proof right there mj is not bad. My kids are super smart and healthy. If I were you I’d move

I believe this i think about those who smoked during their pregnancy their chidren were smart healthy birthweight and very aware of everything at a very young age! I smoked with mine and my two year potty traned herself talking in sentences abut things weve only talked abot one time! My four year was also very healthy perfect birthweight and she is smarter than any six year old out there! My friends who didnt smoke their children were very sick they had low birthweight older than my children but still cant spell their name! I believe if the laws were different there would be much more happiness and smarter children out there. Much less post partum depression and less pills making people crazy and less attentive. Thank you for knowing the truth also i wish it was ok for it to be ok. Much more happy parents. And happy healthy children.

This really helps ease guilt! I smoked mj before I was pregnant for my ADHD and bipolar because I don’t like how the pills make me feel n how they change me with mj I can still stay calm and keep my anger under control. Now pregnant I lost 10lbs from being sick I found if I smoked a little it keeps my sickness away it helps keep me calm, pregnancy is very hard on women and very stressful. Thank you for sharing your studies!

I smoked heavy my entire pregnancy. My daughter is very intelligent. Has so far done things on a faster scale then portrayed by doctor. She is very sweet, independent, and sleeps all night. Never cries! I was drug tested when she was born and the state I live in made me pay plenty money but never checked on my child. Was a total money scam. Thank you for your hard work and studies on this subject. One day it will be legal.

I just recently found out I’m pregnant. I am a frequent mj smoker but have since quit because of the pregnancy. Several friends of mine turned me on to the research found promoting mj use during pregnancy and I have to say I’m blown away. I fear the consequences of the hospital tests and I don’t know how to approach my doctors about wanting to continue smoking. I have pretty severe depression and anxiety that has been putting a damper on the joy of being pregnant, not to mention my once blissful relationship with the baby’s father. I’m struggling with the decision and the opinions of others including my baby’s father on the subject. I truly think it could be beneficial to continue instead of literally being so hormonal that I can’t function at home or at work. I worry sometimes that I’m out of control. I have been using mj to regulate my depression since I was a teen instead of the prescribed Zoloft which made me lose large spans of time in memory. I live in nj and although it has been medically passed, I doubt I can get a prescription for its use during pregnancy. If there is any suggestions on how I should approach this it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks:)

I use regularly to help with my anxiety, moodswings and morning sickness. It’s the only way I can feel like a normal functioning person because I was told I can’t tale my anti-anxiety medication because it’s harmful to the baby. I was also told weed would be harmful to my baby as well, but so far the things I’ve read supporting it outway the “negatives” if they even exist.

This is very helpful. I’ve had plenty of people, even a couple of doctors tell me it’s too harmful to smoke weed while pregnant and I need to stop. The only reason I smoke it is to help keep my nausea under control and keep from puking 3 times a day.

I am all for legalizing the use of pot and agree with the medicinal purposes etc, however I do not agree with it being used in pregnancy or while breastfeeding. I am a NICU nurse and have seen the effects firsthand!! The babies born to THC + mothers are typically smaller in birth weight as their umbilical cord is smaller from decreased blood flow from placenta/mom/to baby. Therefore, there are less nutrients reaching baby. Babies born smaller also tend to have blood sugar issues, feeding issues, etc. Their neuro system and brain are affected.They can also show some withdrawing signs as well. These kids can also withdraw from nicotine, and many moms don’t think it has any effect on their babies. I’ve taken care of them personally! I would love to actually see and study this research this article is talking about. This “research” could be made up entirely, who knows! Don’t trust it. To answer some of your questions, if you breastfeed, yes it gets transferred in your milk, which in turn effects your baby. There are other ways to help keep nausea at bay in pregnancy. Why even risk your baby having issues? Come on, ladies. Start your kid off on the right foot and give their brains and bodies the chance to develop normally.

“Measurements and main results. Exposed and nonexposed neonates were compared at 3 days and 1 month old, using the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, including supplementary items to capture possible subtle effects. There were no significant differences between exposed and nonexposed neonates on day 3. At 1 month, the exposed neonates showed better physiological stability and required less examiner facilitation to reach organized states. The neonates of heavy-marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers. ”

Though several retrospective, self-report surveys have been conducted regarding pre-natal exposure to cannabis, not all of these properly control for the use of alcohol or other substances. Among those that do, most report cannabis’ apparent impact on birth-weight and other adverse perinatal outcomes to be minimal. (Though adverse reproductive outcomes have been reported in rodents given synthetic THC, these results are typically only reported after the administration of extremely large doses of the drug at specific times during pregnancy. Therefore, these results likely have little relevance to humans.)

Writing in their 1997 book Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence (The Lindesmith Center), Drs. John P. Morgan and Lynn Zimmer assert, “Marijuana has no reliable impact on birth size, length of gestation … or the occurrence of physical abnormalities” among infants. Large-scale surveys appear to back up their conclusion.

A 2002 survey of 12,060 British women did not demonstrate significant differences in growth among newborns exposed to cannabis in utero versus those with no exposure, when controlling for co-founding factors such as the mothers’ age, pre-pregnancy weight, and the self-reported use of tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, and other illicit drugs. A 1999 survey of 12,885 Dutch mothers reported similar findings after controlling for maternal tobacco use. “The use of cannabis is not a major prognostic factor regarding the outcome of pregnancy,” the authors concluded. A 1997 Australian study of 32,483 mothers also reported, “There is inadequate evidence that cannabis, at the amount typically consumed by pregnant women, causes low birth weight.” Most recently, a large-scale case-control study published in the journal Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology determined that mothers who reported using cannabis during pregnancy suffered no increased risk of bearing children with acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer known to strike adolescents under age 15.

Arguably the study most often cited on the subject remains Dr. Dreher’s work from Jamaica, which examined the birth weights and early development of babies exposed to cannabis compared to non-exposed infants. (Mothers in the study reported that they occasionally mixed cannabis with tea as an alternative to smoking.) Her study reported no significant physical or psychological differences in newborns of heavy marijuana-using mothers at three days old, and found that exposed children performed better on a variety of physiological and autonomic tests than non-exposed children at 30 days. (This latter trend was suggested to have been a result of the socio-economic status of the mothers rather than a result of pre-natal pot exposure.) http://norml.org/about/item/breathe-push-puff-pot-use-and-pregnancy-a-review-of-the-literature

Thank you Ms Dreher for being a honest woman we need more brave honest woman like you in our world. Truth is all one seeks in life. Yet more and more are so willing to be dishonest. Continue on with your research and studies The truth shall set us free !!! Thanks again!

I have to wonder why she sounds so pro mj.I come from a state where its legal and I do agree with the positive aspect of mj.However not enough research has been done to convince me that mj is healthy for my unborn.Seriously be good moms and be sobor especially if cps is going to get involved.Good moms dont endanger their babies even if the danger is from a law.Just to keep getting high.And fyi there are mj stories where weed has been the cause of negative outcomes to baby.I injested weed for a hernia that was painful since vicodin was not an optiom and I hate how it makes me feel.I just wanted to sleep at night.He was the only pregnancy I had some form of mj ;with my first two hell no.And my last baby was irritated and had a hard time adjusting socially and just in general upset and he still is.My two none mj babies came out better adjusted and no sleeping problems…All my kids are smart,as am I.I dont believe any article where the researcher is nearly bashing sobor mothers.Be wise and dont put your babies at risk.Mj alters a brain that is still developing and not in a good way.Thats why most doctors who are pro mj dont agree with minors using cause it affects brain development.

Hi, my name is Don, I have a Daughter that had allot of trouble with morning sickness and no appetite even when she wasn’t sick, so a Dr. we have used and trusted for many years here in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he discussed MMJ with her and she decided to try it, well it was like night and day and my daughter went on with the rest of her Pregnancy with out any problems, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl 7lbs.6ozs. and she turned a year old yesterday june12,2014 and she’s a healthy, happy, curious child that is very intelligent and not shy either she loves other children and baby’s, as Grandpa of course I think the world of her, but she’s a perfect healthy child with no medical or mental issues of any sort. here’s the reason It’s been almost a year since I commented on this WEB sight, while my daughter was at the hospital after giving birth a really rude nurse came into the room and informed my 20 yr old daughter that she would be charged with..and I quote “Intra Familial Neglect, Environment Injurious” and the Nurse informed her that the Doctor prescribed the MMJ for my daughter but not her baby, being in the womb of course she’s affected also, but my daughter’s Doctor a prominent OB Doctor agreed with our other Dr. and told her not to quit using MMJ especially at the end of her pregnancy after everything was going well. well almost 2 months later we get a visit from a woman with CDHS (colorado department of human services) and she needed to interview my daughter and her husband, so we told them were they lived,(why they came to our house were not sure because, my daughter and her husband live in their own home) well she interviewed them treated them very rudely and then chge my daughter, they sent us a form telling us that she had been charged and convicted and it was going on her permanent record for the rest of her life, on the form they send you you have a choice to appeal the case, we checked that box and intended to Lawyer up, when my daughter receives a form stating that there’s another choice, if she does (1) one year of “unsupervised” probation with out Incident that at one year the charge would be Expunged and would not go on her record, well we received a letter one day after my grand-baby’s birthday that the case has been “Expunged” and will no longer be a part of my daughter’s record which has always been spotless. so there’s the story mom’s and Dad’s and I hope that mom’s won’t have to go threw any of this but if you get charged and it can be not only MMJ but other medications you’re Dr. has prescribed you, BUT remember it’s OK or atleast legal to smoke cigarettes and drink booze, GO FIGURE….. GOOD LUCK MOM’S AND DAD’S

I think the research needs to go a bit furthar as a lot of the marijuana in North America is not pure and natural, there are so many types because of the chemicals people add to it to make it stronger, etc. The stuff in Jamaica is more pure and natural. Even if you compare the color of the weed from Jamaica to that from North America you will see a difference. I think it could be dangerous for mothers to smoke marijuana in North America as you never know what could be in it.

Strengths vary as people get good crops, so keep seeds from them, and progress forward with better quality weed. A bit like Genetic Engineering of crops such as Soy, but selective growing of crops, rather than modifying it in a Lab.
No one would keep seeds from any vege that didnt produce well. Same goes for animals. If they dont produce good meat/offspring etc, they are culled, so only the best of the best keep the gene pool going.

I’m 17 years old and I’m currently 20 weeks pregnant with my first child! My boyfriend and I couldn’t be any more excited to meet our little baby girl come November time! I’ve been smoking weed almost every day since I was 14, and weed has done nothing for me hit enhance my life. my parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, pretty much Everyone in my family smokes daily as well. My mom smoked through mine and my younger sisters pregnancies. I’ve always been really healthy, and I’ve always done really well in school. although I think my little sister has some ADHD and behavioral problems. My mom didn’t smoke as much while she was pregnant with my older sister, and she has seizures after she was born. My doctor knew about my smoking from the first doctors visit, but at my 16 week visit, he mentioned to me that social services could get involved if I tested positive in a drug test. so, both my mom and my boyfriend and I all agreed I needed to stop. and I haven’t smoked since then! but, I would really like to start again, it helps relieve my terrible back pains, anxiety, head aches, and appetite. but, what I’m most afraid of is them testing me or my baby and cps taking my baby away! I’ve read different thing son different cites and forums, some people say that hospitals will drug test every mother and baby, and other people say that the hospital will only test if they have a suspicion that they have to. does anyone here know from experience, preferably from New York State? thanks!

I am greatful for this article. I have had such bad nausea during my pregnancy that I had no choice but to start using marijuana. I jave since started retaining the nutrients needed for my baby to be healthy and grow. My doctor asked me what I had changed, when I told him, he said ok, but I cant condone it. I will pretend I didnt know. My pregnancy is going wonderful, my baby is developing perfectly.

I am on A LOT of anti-depressants and anxiety. Meds. My boyfriend and I are talking about getting pregnant. I would have to go off almost ALL my meds. This makes me kind of nervous. I am looking for alternatives. It has been passed in Massachusetts for medicinal marijuana. I just want proof to argue with my psychiatrist for it for when the time comes. Any suggestions?

if people wish to comment about the use of THC during pregancy, they should look for the ‘CLINICAL STUDIES’. There are very very few of these around, and even fewer are recent. Most are ‘STUDIES’ (not ‘clinical’) from people who wanted to start propaganda over a natural ‘herb’ (thats what it is). It doesnt cause issues to the unborn foetus, and it doesnt cause any issues later in life for that child.
The reason its illegal id because of the Americans back over 100 years ago, and they wanted to keep the Mexicans, and some religious group out of there country. They both smoked lost of weed, so that was the American way to keep them out. (Not that it worked). Austalia and NZ followed suit, using the American propaganda as a reason. The real reason is because they couldnt collect taxes on it though.

Weed isn’t legal here does anyone buy it and also smoke in backwoods I know a lot of Jamaicans smoke in frontole I smoke maybe six puffs a day depending how sick I feel IM 2 months prego and just nervous of affect on baby first child and 28 also smoking since IM 15 lungs are in tact brain scans says so as well IM just a health nut I get All major things checked up every year since I’ve been doing it so long anyone going through the same experiences need some advice I’ve read until I can’t read and doctor been testing my pee but never brought up weed so I don’t PS it’s soo illegal and frowned upon please help doctor prescribed nausea med and constipation meds but feel like weed is way better with all these issues

Thank god for Canada! I can discuss it with my midwife and there is no way they test every baby for drugs when they are born here. The United states is still on a crusade on “the war on drugs” regardless if some states are legal. It seems the usa is so pharma driven that you can take whatever pharma drug because there is heavy profit attached. I am so sorry for the moms who are guilted into thinking they are jeopardizing their children :(

I could literally just cry reading all of these comments! I’m so glad I found an article by a professional who isn’t afraid to share the reality and truth of her findings on marijuana use during pregnancy. I’m currently 5 1/2 months pregnant with my first child and it has been a rough few months! I smoke a few times a week because I had lost over 20 pounds in the first four months from having 24/7 sickness. Just recently, thanks to smoking, I’ve been able to gain back 25 pounds! I was concerned about having to smoke more to get my appetite back and stop the nausea because 80% of the articles you read about marijuana use during pregnancy are all negative and scary, but I guess that’s to be expected in the United states. Thank you to Dr. Dreher and to all the women commenting on this article, you’ve made me feel a lot better.

The public now days just sees marijuana as a bad thing and is frowned upon but we see people smoking cigarettes that cause cancer and dont even bat an eye. I had a CPS worker tell me that i would have been better off having my wife smoke cigarettes then marijuana during pregnancy. My son is Healthy and strong, he also constantly has his eves open. Amazing!! Harmful chemicals over something natural? Wow! The main issue should be moms using meth, heroin and hard drugs. But we are told how we should raise our children and live our lives. This flawed system should stand back look at the evidence.

I smoked weed every single day pregnant with both my children who are now 2 and a half and 6 and a half years old. My 6 year old is an outstanding artist and the smartest kid in her class. My 2 year old is 90% potty trained, drinks from an open cup, can read every letter capital or lowercase and every number 1-10, she can count to 10, knows all of her colors and shapes and can carry on a perfect conversation! She has an amazing photographic memory. She even walked and talked early! Both of my kids are very smart and very well behaved. When my daughters were born they were good babies and they did not cry much at all. They are also very healthy and get sick about once every two years!

Hi everyone, my name is veronica I’m 24 expecting my 1st child in March I was never a hard core smoker,I would only smoke when I was very stressed or just to relax.since I found out that I was pregnant I’ve been very stressed and all I could think about is smoking I have not smoked weed in over a yearbecause I am terrified of what it could do to my baby I’ve done many research and this is by far the most helpful article I’ve read by far, a lot of people have told me that it’s okay to smoke after the third trimester but I’m still afraid. I also used to smoke cigarettes and I had to stop cold turkey when I found out I was pregnant it has been very hard but I don’t care much about cigarettes but I really would want to get a clear answer for the marijuana use. Help….

Hey!! I´m Paloma, from Mexico. Am 32 years old, expecting my first baby.. I started using mj when I was 22, thank God I don´t suffer from any disease, I smoke because I like it very much, it does help alot to get a good night sleep or during stressing days… I was not sure if I could smoke during my pregnancy, and if there would be any negative effects, this is by far the best article, I have read on the subject. all the others are so scary!! this is reliable, and also the stories other mothers share really make one feel better and not guilty about smoking. so thank you so much! whoever took the time and effort to post all this information specially the information on Dr. Dreher´s research, thank you! because usually any info about mj and its use is satanized. so now.. am feeling better about smocking and specially cause i now know that is not going to harm my baby.

As far as the baby is concerned, s/he will only receive the cannabinoids from whatever form of MJ the mom takes. The baby won’t be harmed by the smoke, from what i understand, however the study in this article was performed on women in Jamaica who drink MJ tea – so Dreher’s research doesn’t specifically address smoked.

Dr. Dreher speaks of medical marijuana, which is grown and prepared in a laboratory. Marijuana can be dangerous when purchased elsewhere. Furthermore, the biology of all humans is different, and since the research was primarily conducted in Jamaica, we must not overlook the fact that Jamaican mothers may deal with marijuana quite differently than mothers of another origin. For example, the Europeans brought diseases to America that killed large portions of the native American population inadvertently. The Europeans had immunity to many of the diseases that they transferred to America, however, a large extent of the native American population had no such immunity.

Lastly, Dr. Dreher fails to take into consideration that carbon monoxide attaches to erythrocytes much easier than oxygen, and smoking marijuana, as well as any other type of smoke exposure, is inherently harmful to a developing fetus in utero because it decreases oxygen levels in the mother’s blood, which directly decreases the flow of oxygen to the developing fetus.

Dr Dreher is speaking of marijuana grown by locals in Jamaica – it is not special in any way. Also, I don’t believe there is evidence that marijuana smoking harms the fetus. Assumptions only further reefer madness. would prefer to see independent, preferably peer-reviewed studies supporting the information you’re presenting. But Dreher’s studies involved women who drank marijuana tea, they didn’t smoke.

I stopped smoking when I was 5 weeks. My husband and I decided I was the best. A week later we had an argument that lasted all day and the stress got to me and I had cramping that made me fall to my knees. When I was 15 I had miscarried and so the cramping scared me. We went to the hospital, checked the baby and everything was alright and was given tylenol. But foe the next week and a half the horrible cramping didn’t go away. A few days after the first visit I went again (I didn’t have insurance so I didn’t go to an ob/gyn) and they gave me Tylenol again. My husband left the hospital and bought weed and we smoked just half together, and poof I was feeling really good. But the cramping like I said didn’t go away. My husband would buy enough to smoke once a day when I had pains. I am now 14 weeks pregnant and just two three hits make the pain leave, give me an appetite and take the enormous amount of stress away. My family doesn’t know because they’ll just gripe. But his side does. They don’t approve and told me that cps will come into contact with me if I don’t quit. Me and my husband have read many different websites from different scientists and the actual studies have only proven us right over and over. I take very good care of my stepdaughter when under the influence of marijuana and I know if I don’t think ill be able to take on a task with my newborn I’ll remain sober until I know what I’m doing 100%. Only thing I’m worried about is the law. And I’m really worried about the law… This is my world and in scared to have worked so hard for this pregnancy and in the end have my baby taken away…

These Stories and Shares Are Golden,to this research. I believe The “KEY” to Reopen the Study and research – in America. (cause) After witnessing these SUCH Authentic Genuine Testimonies-and gaining so Much knowledge myself , I believe for one it was Goddess sent – ( I searched and this was looking for me too…I think this article is the Pure “Golden Thread” to Help Support Responsible Mommies like ourselves who Use this one Sacred Medicine, to Heal ,and not Abuse Her and to think our lil seeds inside , transform and blossom “just that” in our selves – GIVE THANKS!

I am 9 weeks pregnant and I have already had my first appointment. I just saw my insurance records and it shows I had a class a drug screen. I have smoked every day so far just because when I don’t smoke I can’t eat anything and then I end up spending my whole day throwing up . It’s painful when your stomach is empty . So smoking weed helps a lot and I can’t see myself quiting anytime . My bmi drops to 17 when I don’t smoke . That’s how bad it gets . Anyways , I live in Cincinnati and go to the Christ hospital mount auburn ob/gyn . I am really worried my next appt they will drug test me again and Cps will get involved . I don’t want that . Can someone explain to me what is the protocol for pregnant women with a positive drug test . I know the one they already gave me is going to be positive so they will most likely do another one and it will also be positive . Also how do i know if it was a urine test or a blood test . The insurance bill says class a drug screen 80301.

I smoked marijuana with my first two children and they did not know how to function well like my other two children. They needed extra help in school with RSP classes and disabilities. I regret that I smoked marijuana my whole pregnancy with my two older kids. Unlike my other two children who are perfectly fine they did not require extra help like my other two kids and are very healthy. So this is a lie!!! Very disappointed and mislead by this article.

Melanie Dreher, as with most science, bases her work on large numbers of individuals/case studies. Science is never done based on a single case study. Dr Dreher also accounted for other factors, including whether the mothers were drinking alcohol as well, and their health in general, stress levels, etc.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any studies a pregnant woman and a previous ganja baby could participate in? I smoked throughout my entire pregnancy with my last child. She weighed more than my first child whom I was clean of everything with. I had 0 pregnancy complications. Baby had 0 complications. I am pregnant with my 3rd hold now, and I have to quit smoking because of the new state laws that allow hospitals and doctors to drug test women and babies after delivery. My child is smart as a tack! Won’t be 2 for 3 more months and can already count past 10 and say anything you tell her to. I have been searching for a study to join, but cannot find any info on the Internet since it is apparently shunned by society. I gained a total of 14 pounds with my second child despite the fact that I smoked and had a lot of “munchies”. Looking for useful information!

The Economist: "If (Marijuana) were unknown, its discovery would no doubt be hailed as a medical breakthrough. Scientists would praise its potential for treating everything from pain to cancer and marvel at its rich pharmacopoeia; many of whose chemicals mimic vital molecules in the human body."

What if Cannabis Killed Cancer?

Click bottom right for full screen

Dennis Hill on cannabis cancer treatment – heated vs raw

The cannabis treatment for cancer is really different than for any other disease, and this is the crux of it… for THCA to fit the CB1 receptor it has to be heated (decarboxylated) to burn off the carboxyl group (COOH). Once the THC hits the receptor, ceramide is released to shred the mitochondria and kill the cancer cell.

Cannabis raw is never heated, so the cannabinoids remain acidic and cannot fit the cell receptors CB1 and CB2. Raw cannabinoids are therapeutic in many ways, but will not use the pathway nature provides to kill cancer cells.

"Cannabis will one day be seen as a wonder drug, as was penicillin in the 1940s. Like penicillin, herbal marijuana is remarkably nontoxic, has a wide range of therapeutic applications and would be quite inexpensive if it were legal"Lester Grinspoon

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